When the Colorado Avalanche traded center Jack Drury to the Nashville Predators, some fans were rightfully confused. The deal didn’t seem to have a practical implication, even though it turned out to be much better than anticipated.
But there were question marks, nonetheless, about what the Avalanche would move on from the 26-year-old Drury.
The answer has now become abundantly clear.
The Predators signed Drury to a five-year, $22.5 million contract. The deal comes with a $4.5 million cap hit. That was precisely the range we had anticipated earlier, here at Mile High Sticking.
That contract explains why the Avalanche just couldn’t really afford to splurge on a fourth-line center. In Nashville, Drury will get a chance to be much more than a 4C. Hence, the team’s motivation to sign him to such a contract.
For Colorado, the team got a solid fourth-liner center in Fyodor Svechkov, while hardly paying anything in that ballpark.
It’s too bad the cap situation forced the Avalanche to trade Drury. But that’s the name of the game. The key point here is that Colorado actually came out ahead instead of just dumping Drury for a seventh-round pick, or something.
Avalanche have cost-certainty in Svechkov, L’Heureux
The Avalanche got much-needed cost certainty with the two pieces it acquired for Drury. As mentioned, Svechkov is a solid replacement as a 4C. Most importantly, his cap hit comes in at $1.25 million. That’s fine for the position, especially when considering the Avs’ tight cap situation.
As for L’Heureux, getting a gritty, hard-hitting winger is something the team needed. It became evident in the postseason, particularly during the Minnesota series. The Avalanche could have used a little more pugnacity in the lineup, beyond the usual suspects like captain Gabe Landeskog, Logan O’Connor, and Josh Manson.
Adding L’Heureux gives Colorado a little extra punch that will come in handy when dealing with beefier opponents. The best part is that the 23-year-old can play both wings and comes with an $875K cap hit. That’s a fantastic number, allowing the Avs to manage their cap well.
As it stands, the Avalanche have about $5.6 million in cap space. That should be enough to address the final pieces to round out the roster. The club could use another defenseman and potentially re-sign Joel Kiviranta.
Let’s see what the club does in the coming weeks. While there aren’t any real holes to fill, Joe Sakic no doubt has a shopping list he’d like to get to.
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